Your best candidate just aced the interview. They understand your product, they move fast, and they could genuinely change the trajectory of your startup.
Then comes the catch. They need a Skilled Worker visa. To hire them, you need to sponsor them.
This is the moment most founders pause. Not because sponsorship is impossible, but because the cost feels unclear. Nobody gives you a straight number. So you hesitate, lose the candidate, and end up settling for someone who was available but not right.
Here is the straight number. For a small sponsor hiring one Skilled Worker for five years, the employer pays £3,499 in Home Office fees. That covers the sponsor licence, Certificate of Sponsorship, and the Immigration Skills Charge combined.
That is less than most recruitment agency fees for a single hire.
Before you make a decision, here is exactly where that money goes.
What you pay as the employer
These are non-negotiable costs. You cannot pass them to the sponsored worker.
Sponsor licence application fee
You pay this once when you first apply for your licence.
Small or charitable sponsor: £574. Medium or large sponsor: £1,579.
Most startups qualify as small sponsors. You meet the threshold if two of the following apply. Annual turnover is £15 million or less. Total assets are £7.5 million or less. Or you have 50 or fewer employees.
Priority processing (optional)
If you need the licence decision faster, you can pay £750 for priority processing. This does not guarantee approval. It only speeds up the decision. Availability is limited each working day.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Every time you sponsor a worker, you must assign a Certificate of Sponsorship. This costs £525 per worker and again for any future extension.
Immigration Skills Charge
This is usually the biggest employer cost. You pay it upfront when you assign the Certificate of Sponsorship.
For a small or charitable sponsor: £480 for the first 12 months, then £240 for each additional six months. Maximum for five years: £2,400.
For a medium or large sponsor: £1,320 for the first 12 months, then £660 for each additional six months. Maximum for five years: £6,600.
Some roles are exempt, including scientists, researchers, and workers switching from a Student visa.
The total for a small sponsor hiring for five years
Sponsor licence: £574. Certificate of Sponsorship: £525. Immigration Skills Charge (five years): £2,400.
Total employer cost: £3,499.
Add £750 if you use priority processing, bringing the total to £4,249.
For a medium or large sponsor, the same five-year hire costs £8,704.
What the worker usually pays
These are visa costs that fall on the individual. Many employers choose to cover some or all of them, especially for senior or hard-to-fill roles.
Visa application fee
For a five-year visa applying from outside the UK: £1,519. From inside the UK: £1,751.
Each dependant pays the same fee again.
Priority services are available. £500 for a faster decision. £1,000 for a decision usually by the end of the next working day.
Immigration Health Surcharge
This is charged per year, per person. At £1,035 per year, a five-year visa costs £5,175 for the main applicant and £5,175 for each dependant.
This is often the biggest cost shock for workers, especially those moving with family.
Maintenance funds
Unless you certify maintenance on the Certificate of Sponsorship, the worker must show £1,270 in savings. This is not paid to the Home Office, but many employers choose to certify maintenance to reduce friction in the application.
The costs everyone forgets
The Home Office fees are only part of the picture. In practice, many employers also spend on legal or advisory support, internal time on compliance and reporting, relocation support, temporary accommodation or flights, and document translation or qualification verification.
These vary widely, but factor them in early so sponsorship does not cost more than expected later.
The real question is not whether you can afford it
A single AE mis-hire costs roughly £150,000 when you add salary, lost pipeline, morale damage, and ramp time. Six months of runway burned on someone who was available but not right.
£3,499 to sponsor the person who actually fits? That is not a cost. That is the cheapest insurance policy in hiring.
The founders who win are the ones who stop treating immigration as a barrier and start treating it as a competitive advantage. While your competitors limit their search to whoever already has the right to work, you are hiring from the entire global talent pool.
All figures in this article are based on official GOV.UK guidance and Home Office fee schedules as at December 2025. They cover immigration costs only and exclude salary, legal fees, ongoing compliance, HR systems, and other employment-related expenses.